The Newlands Times

School Council Report 


and Sub Committee       Information


School Council Report

The new School Council met for the first time on Tuesday night, welcoming new members Claire Moore and Jess Petrie and returning member Craig Peebles. The first order of business was to select a School Council President and to that end we can announce that Adam Palmer will undertake the role for another year. 

 

We then assigned responsibility for the various subcommittees. Claire has volunteered to be the School Council Treasurer and help guide the Finance subcommittee in 2024. Craig Peebles will lead the Education, Wellbeing and Policy subcommittee for another year and Tim Smith will continue to run Building and Grounds. Lisa Knott, meanwhile, has taken over the OSHC (aftercare) subcommittee. Adam will report to the council on PFA activity. 

 

School Council subcommittees are a great way for the wider community to contribute to Newland Primary. Each subcommittee meets twice a term, usually about two weeks prior to each School Council meeting. All subcommittees are open to parents and carers are we encourage you to get involved. The one exception is the Finance subcommittee, which consists of the Principal, Assistant Principal, President, and Treasurer. This subcommittee will often discuss confidential information and is closed for that reason. 

 

If you are keen to get involved in any of the other subcommittees, please contact the office to express your interest. Below is a brief rundown on what each of them do. More Information can be found below

 

The Education, Wellbeing and Policy subcommittee helps guide the direction of learning at Newlands Primary, how wellbeing programs are implemented, how information is communicated to the wider community, and ensures that the school’s policies are up to date and reflect the views of the wider community. 

 

The Spanish subcommittee and the Library subcommittee also report to Education, Wellbeing and Policy. If you want to get involved with the Spanish or Library groups drop in to the office for more information.

 

The Buildings and Grounds subcommittee pretty much does what it says on the tin – they keep an eye on what needs fixing, what can be improved, and think about what might be nice to have. Buildings and Grounds are the starting point for organising working bees and deciding what the priorities will be. Buildings and Grounds is also looking to re establish a Sustainability group, so if that sounds like something you are interested in please let the office know. 

 

The OSHC subcommittee works with Jill to make sure the after care and before care program has what it needs to operate. If your kids are using the program and you have ideas about cool stuff they could be doing, this is the place for you. 

 

The PFA subcommittee is just the PFA. These are the people who put on the Welcome BBQ earlier this term, ran last year’s awesome fete, and organise most of the schools fundraising efforts. They meet a couple of times a term. That’s where they discuss what type of events to put on and what the fundraising money should be spent on. Outside of meetings, there are always lots of opportunities to help with the events run by the PFA.

 

With all the subcommittees assigned, we moved on to this year’s indicative budget. During that conversation, it was noted that nearly a third of the voluntary contributions to the school had been paid, so a big thank you to all those that came along on Book Pack Day and made that contribution – it makes a big difference and allows the school to access resources it wouldn’t otherwise be able to. You can still make these contributions by going to the office.

 

Council then discussed the year’s school camps and approved a bunch of upcoming excursions, so expect to see more information about that in the coming weeks and months. 

Sub-Committees/Associations

Our Community is what makes our school special! Our families are dedicated to giving their time and supporting our school by contributing to working bees, helping with fundraisers, supporting our student’s learning in the classroom or being a part of one of our school’s important committees.

 

Below is a list of our school’s groups/committees and organisations for 2024 with a brief description of their purpose. Please read the description of each sub-committee/association and contact the individual listed to register your interest. 

 

 

Parent & Friends Association -  Community Events & Fundraising

The Newlands Primary School Parents and Friends Association is a friendly, social group of parents and guardians who meet regularly and help the school in a variety of ways.

 

The PFA aims to:

  • Contribute to the wellbeing of the students, staff and other members of the school community
  • Promote the development of facilities for education generally to support the school council
  • Raise funds for the purpose of providing amenities and enhancements for Newlands Primary School for use by the whole school community
  • Endeavour to stimulate interest in Newlands Primary School and education generally
  • Promote interaction between all members of the school community

Contact: Adam at adampalmer76@gmail.com

 

Education, Wellbeing and Policy Sub-Committee

The Newlands Primary School Education Sub-Committee is a committee that aims to be pro-active in the matters relating to education, particularly those that involve parents and carers at Newlands Primary School. The Education Sub Committee aims to do the following:

  • Improve school-to-parent communication and vice-versa
  • Draft, support, and publicise school education policies
  • Reviewing whole school data
  • Ensure schools initiatives and programs are beneficial to the students at the school.

Upcoming dates:

Monday March 25th 3.45 - 4.45

Monday April 22nd 3.45 - 4.45 

Monday May 13th 3.45 - 4.45 

 Contact: Att: Jess  newlands.ps@education.vic.gov.au

 

Buildings and Grounds Sub-Committee

The Newlands Primary School Building and Grounds Committee consult on matters relating to maintenance together with immediate and future plans to improve the school’s grounds and buildings.

 

The scope of Newlands Primary School’s Buildings and Grounds Committee includes the commissioning, coordination and oversight of the following:

  • General playground maintenance;
  • Working bees;
  • Building projects;
  • Schedule of maintenance;
  • Playground audit;
  • Supporting the Principal with major and minor development and improvement projects

The Sub-committee works in consultation with the Principal and Assistant Principal who outsource certain buildings and grounds jobs on an as-needs basis to different contractors. The work of the Sub-committee is undertaken in addition to these outsourced jobs. A key component of the Sub-Committee’s work is its occasional community working bees. These scheduled events are held on either a Saturday or Sunday and a BBQ lunch may be provided for the families attending. Together with maintaining the school building and grounds, these events provide opportunities for informal social gatherings for all those involved.

 

Contact: Tim at ts@madebybig.com

 

Finance Sub-Committee

The responsibilities of the Newlands Primary School Finance Committee include:

Consolidation of revenue and expenditure,

Dedicated transfer of fundraising,

Assisting the Principal and School Council with the development of the school’s annual budget;

  • Ensuring that the annual budget supports the school strategic plan;
  • Regularly monitoring and reporting to Council on progress against the budget; Ensuring that the school finances are in accordance with DEECD guidelines and that relevant internal control procedures are maintained;
  • Making recommendations to Council on fundraising activities and liaise with the Community Committee and other school groups concerned with these activities;
  • Assisting in the completion of school tenders e.g. works contracts, school council building contracts;
  • Review of parent payment policy;
  • Assisting the Principal in ensuring that the school operates to a balanced budget and that all liabilities and financial commitments are brought to account in the relevant year.

Please Note: Only members from School Council can be a part of the Finance Sub Committee

 

OSHC Sub-Committee

The OSHC sub committee’s purpose is to ensure that Newlands Primary School has a high quality program for children who attend the Out of School Hours Care.

 

The responsibilities of the Newlands Primary School OSHC Committee include:

  • Creating clear communication between OSHC and school council
  • Documenting key work by program staff
  • Supporting the service by researching best practices
  • Networking with local and state organisations 
  • Ensuring the OSHC service meets standards set by state and national regulators

 Contact: Jill at newlandsooshc@gmail.com

 

Reconciliation Action Plan Group (RAP)

This group is working on the implementation of the strategies identified in our school RAP.

Our next meeting will be on Tuesday 30th of April at 2:30 p.m.

Please contact Sonya at newlands.ps@education.vic.gov.

 

Spanish Sub Committee

 The Spanish  Sub-Committee is a committee that aims to be pro-active in matters relating to Spanish bilingual education and culture, particularly those that involve parents and carers at Newlands Primary School. The Spanish Sub Committee aims to do the following:

  • Work with teachers and school on the implementation of the Bilingual Action plan.
  • Organizing events whereby Spanish speaking countries are promoted within the school and the broader community.
  • Promoting our Bilingual program with the local community, Spanish playgroups, Spanish childcare centres and promote this visually in the schooling community.
  • Organize Spanish conversation workshops with Newlands parents and carers.
  • Liaise   with teachers to support the bilingual program and parents participation in school activities such as the Reading program, PMP and Builders program.

Contact: Luisa at newlands.ps@education.vic.gov.

 

School Council 

Newlands School Council is a partnership between the school and community to provide oversight into the school’s operations and school’s committees. The school council has three main responsibilities:

  • Finance: overseeing the development of the school’s annual budget and ensuring proper records are kept of the school’s financial operation
  • Strategic planning: participating in the development and monitoring of the school strategic plan
  • Policy development and review: developing, reviewing and updating policies that reflect a school’s values and support the school’s broad direction outlined in its strategic plan.

Contact: Ross newlands.ps@education.vic.gov.au

 

School Council Nominations

Newland Primary School’s School Council is looking for 3 new members from the parent community to join our team in 2024. The School Council consists of 8 meetings throughout the year. School Councils functions are:

  • to establish the broad direction and vision of the school within the school's community
  • to arrange for the supply of:
    • goods
    • services
    • facilities
    • materials
    • equipment
    • other things or matters required for the conduct of the school, including the provision of preschool programs
  • to raise funds for school-related purposes
  • to regulate and facilitate the after-hours use of the school premises and grounds
  • to exercise a general oversight of the school buildings and grounds and ensure they are kept in good order and condition
  • to provide for the cleaning and sanitary services that are necessary for the school
  • to ensure that all money coming into the hands of the council is expended for proper purposes relating to the school
  • to provide meals and refreshments for the staff and students of the school and make charges for those meals or refreshments
  • to inform itself and take into account any views of the school community to make decisions regarding the school and the students at the school
  • to generally stimulate interest in the school in the wider community
  • to prepare the School Strategic Plan and review the Annual Implementation Plan — to be signed by the president and the principal
  • to report annually (the Annual Report) to the school community and to the department on:
    • the school’s financial activities
    • the School Strategic Plan, and
    • any other matters that are determined by the Minister
  • to manage the hire, licence, and shared use of school facilities
  • to determine the dates for the school’s student-free days:
    • in accordance with the number of student-free days each calendar year specified by the Secretary of the department
  • to perform any other function or duty, or to exercise any power conferred or imposed on the council by or under:
    • the Education and Training Reform Act 2006, or
    • any regulations made under that Act
    • a Ministerial Order made, or direction issued, by the Minister under the Education and Training Reform Act.

If you are interested in nominating to be a member of school council, please fill in the nomination form found at the office by Friday 23rd of February. If we receive than 3 nominations, the school will have an election where our parent community will nominate their preferred applicant. There will be further information provided in the case this happens. 

For more information about School Council and the role of its members , please click on the following link - School Council – Powers and Functions: Policy | education.vic.gov.au.